I've only ever had to rely on public transportation to get to UW when I was in school and for the occasional random outing, but I think it's pretty adequate. But people who use it more, like monkeytoes and SweetT, will probably be more informative.

I think Seattle is relatively bike-friendly and getting more so (I'm not a cyclist but my husband is). It's hilly, though! There's a good bike... culture, I guess? That sounds so corny, but you know what I mean. Lots of people ride bikes, there's a big cycling club that puts on events if that's your thing, etc.

Seattle weather is laughably misrepresented by the conventional wisdom. Most of our rain and gloom come between December and March, or so. And when it rains, it usually drizzles and broods, which can be annoying, but it's not like brutal downpours. Spring and summer can be glorious. Winters are mild, if dreary. Weather-wise, the only complaint I have is the almost total absence of thunderstorms.

Public transportation is pretty good. Traffic is hideous.

Seattle is pretty spread out, but doesnt feel like a big city. It's not small-towny, like Portland, though. I would not want to live in the burbs. I live in the picturesquely named Central District, and it doesn't feel all that urban.

Yeah, the rain thing is way overhyped. There are a TON of cities that get more rain than Seattle. The overcast thing is not so much overhyped... we do have a lot of un-sunny days. Personally, it doesn't bother me. I'm ready for summer when it comes, but the random crystal clear sunny days that pop up here and there make up for a lot. Can't comment on skiing, not my thing. I like to look at the snowcapped mountains from afar on those random clear days.

Traffic can definitely suck. I commute by bus, so only drive outside of commuting hours which makes it suck less. Public transportation is pretty good; SweetT will have more specific info since she uses it a lot more than I do. I think it's a pretty bike friendly city.

Whether or not a good neighborhood is affordable to you depends on... well, everything. How much you can spend, what neighborhoods you like, etc... Seattle is very neighborhood-y: Ballard is completely different than Capital Hill which is completely different from West Seattle. You have to visit to get a feel for what flavor of Seattle you want and then figure out if you can/want to afford it. I would agree with Footie that Seattle doesn't have a big city feel (but I grew up in L.A. so feel free to ignore me.) I wouldn't want to live in the 'burbs here; I lived on the East side years ago and it's just... I don't know, not my flavor I guess. But, you know, people do.

i moved to seattle 3-4 years ago and the advice you get on weather will vary from person to person. i have a few years under my belt but nov - mar is still the most brutal time of the year for me. i didn't know that i would have bouts of SAD until i moved here. when i visited during the summer i thought grey days were over-hyped too until i experienced it so i *highly* recommend visiting during the winter time. plenty of people love it though. i choose to travel from nov-may so i don't have to deal with it.

i work as a software engineer and the city is bursting at seams with developers making the job search less than fruitful *right now* but who knows where it will be in two years so i won't wax on about this too much.

someone else, i think it was linanil, asked about moving here and we all had really good things to say but i can't find the darn thread! anyone else remember it? footface even posted a map of all the major neighborhoods too!

I have to second what SweetT says about SAD. It really is typically gray and overcast from end of Nov til March/April, with the rare sunny day. Definitely visit during the winter to experience it firsthand. And the rain is more like a mist/light rain, although as soon as it does rain, all the people here suddenly forget how to drive in it. Traffic can be unbearable during rush hour, so I avoid the heavy spots during that time as much as possible. Public transit is ok, but the central downtown area is a sketchy place to wait for the bus after dark.

The good: Lots of coffee :). Funky little neighborhoods, each with their own personality. TONS of awesome restaurants. The scenery. A big city with a small hometown feel. Summer here is insanely gorgeous. And a mild climate helps. Skiing is decent. Housing is still dropping, so now's the perfect time to buy. And the ridiculously close proximity to Vancouver BC and Portland for fun weekend trips.

Funky little neighborhoods, each with their own personality. TONS of awesome restaurants. The scenery. A big city with a small hometown feel. Summer here is insanely gorgeous. And a mild climate helps. Skiing is decent. Housing is still dropping, so now's the perfect time to buy. And the ridiculously close proximity to Vancouver BC and Portland for fun weekend trips.

Love all ^ that! (I guess we'd have to start drinking coffee, huh?)

The "big city with hometown feel" sounds nice. I've been afraid we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves in a big city. However, I was thinking that Dallas (1 1/2 hours N of us) is not THAT big, but turns out it's twice the size/population of Seattle.

I THINK I could be ok with Nov-March, especially with a lot of the rest of the time being insanely nice. It's just so hard to know! It might be pretty hard to visit twice (cost).

For those of you who went, how did you like UW? It looks amazing, but HUGE. My undergrad. U has a whole student population of the graduate population at UW.

I just really, really like the idea of Seattle.

eta: I'm more into commuting by bike than races or other rides, so I was just hoping for super bike friendly.

I moved here 21 years ago to go to UW, just as the coffee craze was starting. I still don't drink coffee and they haven't kicked me out yet!

Any comment I can make about the school is going to be largely irrelevant since I graduated so long ago. I was happy there, though, and the campus is beautiful. We need missdelaney in here to give you some insight into life at the UW in this decade. :P

My only contribution is that the Seattle Public Library system is grand. I've not been to Seattle since the Earth's crust was cooling. . .

_________________A whole lot of access and privilege goes into being sanctimonious pricks J-DubDessert is currently a big bowl of sanctimonious, passive aggressive vegan enduced boak. FezzaYou people are way less funny than Pandacookie. Sucks to be you.-interrobang?!

Yeah, the libraries ARE good! Some branches are quite small, but they're all nice and you can get anything you want sent over to whatever library you want. (And there's the whole, separate, King County library system too.)

I went to grad school at UW, but all I can really vouch for is the lovely campus, which is lovely. I pretty much kept to myself.

I went to UW as an undergrad (2000-2004) and hated it for a bunch of personal reasons that are completely irrelevant. It's a good school, the campus is nice (and some of the best vegan restaurants are right nearby!) and if the particular program you'd be in suits your needs I think you'd be happy. I found it overwhelmingly huge as an (immature! directionless!) undergrad, but I'm sure it's a much different experience for a grad student with a specific area of focus.

I went to UW as an undergrad (2000-2004) and hated it for a bunch of personal reasons that are completely irrelevant. It's a good school, the campus is nice (and some of the best vegan restaurants are right nearby!) and if the particular program you'd be in suits your needs I think you'd be happy. I found it overwhelmingly huge as an (immature! directionless!) undergrad, but I'm sure it's a much different experience for a grad student with a specific area of focus.

Yeah, I would hope/think that most everything would be confined to a certain area...otherwise I will be so lost. It's going to be weird going back to school anyway!

I am a current undergrad at UW and managed to screw up last quarter due to personal reasons in addition to a total lack of support from everyone but one of my teachers (a grad student, so he was still in the "I care" mode). If you're down to get things done totally on your own, it's probably great, but I needed a lot of direction, as I was really lost and confused with going back to school after a year and wasn't even sure if I wanted to be there and nobody seemed to care. There are way too many students for them to actually get invested, though, again, with grad school, it may be different (though there are still thousands of grad students, as well). My grad student teacher was really happy with his program (English), but he was frustrated with the lack of support he met (he can't find funding, he has a beef with the English department). There are a few advisors (for undergrad) who are absolutely amazing, caring, helpful individuals, but whenever I need help, they seem to be MIA.The people, the buildings, the campus, and the classes, however, are all stellar. I have my own issues with the English program (which I'm in), but just be aware that science and tech are very much the better, more invested programs than the arts, which, in my experience thus far, are full of a bunch of people who are frustrated and sad, though on paper the courses and the professors are great. I mean, I'm sticking with it, after all, so how bad can it possibly be?

UW is definitely its own neighborhood. In terms of the others, I live in a good sized duplex with two levels and three of us are currently living here comfortably. Total rent is 995$ plus electric, and I live near bus lines going to downtown and UW in a fairly quiet and nice neighborhood (Queen Anne). You have to scout, but there are great places to live that aren't crazy expensive. I personally love North Seattle neighborhoods- Ballard, Green Lake/Greenwood, Ravenna, Fremont, but if I could deal with the commute, I'd totally live in West Seattle.My roommate doesn't even have her license, and she thinks the bus system is phenomenal. Sometimes it can be spotty- check out what routes are near your house and when they run. The bus to/from UW to my street stops running at 6.30, which is a pain, and the one downtown stops at 11:30, which can also be a pain. I usually bus or bike everywhere, but I don't go many places aside from UW and work (was downtown). Stores are close enough to bike to without problems.

I think that's all I've got for you.Oh, and the weather is awesome. Skiing is excellent in pretty much any direction, there's lots of hiking, and if you like swimming/boating/wakeboarding, lots of opportunity for that.

Excellent! (excellent help for me, I mean..sorry you've had some problems in your program!) I like to think that a grad program such as occupational therapy would have it's own little support system, but I guess that's not necessarily true.

The neighborhood information is extremely helpful, as it will be very hard to search for housing (mainly) from afar.

I will definitely come with more questions. I really, really hope we can visit around August. If any of you would be up for visitors/couch surfers, let me know. ; )

Excellent! (excellent help for me, I mean..sorry you've had some problems in your program!) I like to think that a grad program such as occupational therapy would have it's own little support system, but I guess that's not necessarily true.

The neighborhood information is extremely helpful, as it will be very hard to search for housing (mainly) from afar.

I will definitely come with more questions. I really, really hope we can visit around August. If any of you would be up for visitors/couch surfers, let me know. ; )

if touristy stuff is not high up on your list then u district is a good spot because you have a lot of food options, sidecar (!!) and easy bus access (if public transit is your thing) to different neighborhoods.